Phantoms
by FLUX
Summary: (SPOILERS) It's been three months since Max sacrificed Chloe to save Arcadia Bay and the event still haunts her. Then one day an all too familiar face returns to haunt her once again. . . But this time, she may have information that could change everything Max believes to be real. . . (Written as a continuation of the Sacrifice Chloe ending of Life is Strange.)
1. Chapter 1

_How long have I been up? Thirty-Six hours thus far and not stopping, great. Ever since. . . Ever since the funeral I can't stand to be. . . Anywhere, really. I can't believe it's already been three months since Chloe. . . and Nathan. . . Dammit, thinking about it still makes me want to just, fix it. Just go back and try to fix it! But I know I can't. . . Chloe wouldn't want me to. . . but. . . Whatever, I should focus on the class._

 _Photography, still makes me think of that sick bastard Jefferson. . . The new teacher is nice, she doesn't have the reputation Jefferson did but she knows her stuff and manages to keep us all interested, for the most part. My mind never stops wandering back, but that isn't her fault, it's mine. All the others, they stay focused most of the time and we all work well together when we have to, but I think we all still feel Jefferson's presence. It will always be that way, I think. No matter who teaches here._

"Max, are you okay?" Someone asked to my right.

 _It was Kate. . . Jesus, she looks so happy now, I have a hard time forgetting what I saw happen to her. . . On that roof. . ._

"Y-Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks Kate." I said. She nodded and smiled but kept looking at me.

 _I can see it, she knows I'm not okay. Not that it's hard to tell, I mean I can be read like a book sometimes, but. . . Dammit, I can't sit here anymore. Time to raise your hand Max._

"Yes, Max? Do you have a question?"

"Um, I'm not feeling very well. Could I be excused?" I asked. She frowned and looked a little worried, I had never asked to leave early before.

"Sure, Max. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I think I'll be fine." I gathered my stuff and waved bye to Kate before I went out into the hall, heading towards the bathroom.

 _Dammit, Max. . . You need to stop, really. . . It's been three months. . . You should be. . . Oh who am I kidding, I'm not over this. How could I be?! I lost Chloe! I sat and listened to her get shot and I didn't do anything! Fuck! I need to wash my face. There it is. . . The place where Chloe. . . I can't think about it. . . I just need to wash my face and then I'm going to go back to my dorm. . . Dammit, I don't think I can do this. . . There's where she was laying, when. . . Fuck! Max just wash your face and get out of here! Stop thinking about Chloe's lifeless face, her last words, the gunshot, th-the blood, and. . . Shit. . ._

 _Alright, I need to get out of here. I've spent too much time in here already and I need to go back to my dorm. I can't believe I've been in here for seven minutes. . . Okay, turn the knob for some cold water, and now I will splash you on my face and return to the Max Cave. . . Jeez, I look like . . . What the-_

I turned around.

No. . . _No, it can't be. . . Y-You're not real. . . At the diner, before when I passed out. . . Before t-the storm. . . You aren't real!_

"Hello Max," the other Max said. "It's been far too long."


	2. Chapter 2

"No. . . Y-You can't be real." I said as the other me took another step towards me. Her face contorted into a fake frown.

"Oh Max, is that any way to treat an old friend?" She asked, her voice sounded like mine but. . . More menacing. Like behind every word there was some kind of knife waiting to stab you.

 _How is this possible? C-Chloe's gone. . . Everything was undone. . . How-_

"How am I here, Max?" She asked.

 _How did she. . ._

"I'm you dumbass! I know exactly what you're thinking when you think it."

 _Dammit, why is this happening? Why is she here. . . After everything that happened. . ._

"Now, that one is a little bit more complicated."

"Stop doing that! Just leave me the hell alone!" I yelled. My confusion turning into rage.

 _After all of this. . . After Chloe. . . Everything isn't fixed._

"Well, most things got fixed." The other me said, leaning against the bathroom stall. "Most."

"Like what?! Chloe died and apparently you're still here! How?!"

"Wel-"

"No! If I never saved Chloe you shouldn't exist! You should have never existed! Wasn't that the whole point?!" I yelled, my anger was boiling over now.

"Was it?"

 _You. . . Wait, what?_

"W-What do you mean?" I asked.

"You tell me miss 'time master.' Since you know exactly how this works and I'm just some figment of your very vivid imagination." The other me scoffed.

 _She. . . She's just messing with you Max. . ._

"What did you mean?"

 _Dammit Max! Don't take the bait!_

"By what?" She asked nonchalantly.

"Before, when you said: 'Was it?' What did you mean?" I asked.

 _Oh she is enjoying herself. This is a game to her. I mean me. . . I mean. . . Shit. . ._

"Oh I can see it. . . You are just dying to know. . ." A sick grin spread across her face. "Every logical piece of your brain says no. . . But everything else is just yearning to know."

"Just tell me!"

"Oh I will. But not because you asked, not because you want to know, and not because you should know. I mean you should have known all along! But I won't hold it against you."

 _Max. . . You should just walk away. . . Nothing she says will make you feel better. . . Or bring back C-_

"I should have known what?" I asked. She scoffed.

"What was really going on this whole time! What was really unfolding right in front of you!" That sick grin returned.

 _Dammit. . . What should I have known?! Did I miss something?!_

"I mean you really think it wanted that sad blue-haired punk?"

 _No. . . No. . . Shut up!_

"Think about it, Max! You think you got these powers just out of the blue?!"

 _Sh-Shut. . ._

"You think it's a coincidence it was Chloe who entered that bathroom? The one person you would die for?! It was counting on that!"

 _J-Just shut. . ._

"There were plenty of times it could have killed her punk ass before you came back! Isn't it convenient all this happened when you came back?!"

 _No! Shut up! Just shut up!_

"You're an anomaly to it, Max! An accident that should have never existed!"

"Shut up!"

"No! It never wanted Chloe, Max! All this time, it's been trying to kill you!"


	3. Chapter 3

_Jeez, I really need to clean this place up. . ._

We'd moved our argument from the bathroom back to my dorm. Well, I had walked back while the other Max continued to taunt me. Everytime we passed someone, she would yell something at them, like they could hear her, then laugh when I cringed and sped up.

My dorm room had suffered far worse than I had in the previous months: dirty clothes thrown here and there, books piled in random corners, trash no longer had a designated disposal place, and Lisa's dehydrated corpse sat by the window to reming me of my failures. Not to mention my bed hadn't been made in weeks (it would have been longer but I had spilled soda on it and had to change the sheets.)

"I change my mind," The other Max said. "I think I have in fact found hell."

"Shut up." I mumbled, dropping my backpack by the door.

 _Why the hell is she here? Probably to torture me with the fact that Chloe is dead cause of me. Probably to just torment me. Great. . . Even my own subconcious isn't on my side._

"That's cute, Max. But don't flatter yourself." The other Max said, dropping onto my couch.

"Then why don't you tell me? Tell me why, after all this time, you decide to start messing with me again."

"Oh sweetie, do I have to have a reason?" She grinned, that same ugly grin that twisted her face into someone else's.

 _God dammit, she's messing with me._

"Actually, you do. You wouldn't go through all this trouble just to ruin my day."

"Wel-" She started.

"No," I said, cutting her off. "The first time, back in the diner or whatever the hell that place was, you were there to judge me. You were there for a reason, not just to talk shit. This is no different."

"You're right, Max. I am here for a reason, the talking shit. . . Well, it's a bonus."

 _Good, great, glad I could be your comic relief._

"Then tell me what you've come to say so I can get back to-"

"What? Get back to what, Max?" She interjected. "Your life? Look around, Max! You would call this existence you've been suffering through life?! Wake up!"

 _Max. . ._

"I do! I wake up every shitty day!"

 _Max, it's not worth it. . . Just. . ._

"And every shitty morning, where I should be thinking this day just might be a little better than the last one, I don't! I wake up and remember the sound of a gun shot echoing off stalls and tile floors!"

 _Great, now I get to hear her ridicule me about this too._

"What if you could change it?" She said.

"And I - " I stopped as her words reached my ears. "W-What do you mean?"

"I mean," She said, standing up. "What if you could go back and stop all of this? Chloe would be alive, they would all still be alive."

 _Bullshit._

"I-I can't, I tore up the last picture. I couldn't go back if I wanted to."

"That's where you're wrong, Max."

"How then?"

"When we first met, where were you?"

"I don't know, I passed out and all of a sudden I was being chased by. . . By a bunch of phantoms of people I knew."

"Everything there was based on your memories, even me. I was made from one of your alternate selves, Max."

 _How does this help me? How does any of this help me?_

"I don't understand."

"Jesus. . . Think!" She yelled. "A place completely made from your memories! Your pictures?! You think they're the only things that can send you back?!"

"Wait. . ." I took a step back. "Y-You're saying that if I go back there. . . That if I could somehow access those memories I could go back?"

"Ding-Ding-Ding! We have a winner! Step right up for your prize, Maxine Caulfield! You just won yourself a brand new brain!"

 _How the hell. . . How would I even. . . Wait. . ._

"What do you get out of this?" I asked. She suddenly stopped the sarcastic cheering and looked at me with her judgemental eyes. "I mean, you obviously get something out of this. You're too practical to come here for my health."

 _Dammit, that grin's back._

"You're right, as usual." She said, letting her voice fill with venom. "I guess I get the satisfaction of living, I am in your head after all. I can't live without you, sweetie."

 _Self-preservation then, makes sense._

"Also I was getting a little bored. I mean there's only so many times you can see a building blow up before it gets a little old. I think your muse was thinking that to, last I saw her. . . But it's really hard to tell through the tears."

 _What. . . What the hell is she talking about?_

"What are you talking about?" I asked. She turned and gave me an innocent smile that quickly turned into another grin.

"What? Oh, you mean the explosion? Meh, it's a bit flashy for my taste, but-"

 _God dammit. . ._

"What did you mean by my muse? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, her! Her name escapes me sometimes, what was it? Carla? Carol? Charlotte? Cheryl? I know it starts with a C."

 _Chloe. . ._

"Yep! That was it! Chloe. I don't know why the girl goes back to that diner every day. I mean, the waffles are to die for but in the middle of a storm? I think not!"

"The storm? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Oh, that's right I'm the one who knows how this works." She paused to look me in the eyes. "The last Chloe, the one you left at the lighthouse. Everyday she races back into town to try and save her mommy and everyday, she fails."

 _Oh my god, she has to see that everyday?_

"Y'know what she thinks is gonna happen everyday?" She continued. "That she's gonna get there and that she's gonna save them. Unfortunately, it never goes that way."

 _I'm so sorry, Chloe. . . But, if you're just in my head. . ._

"If what you're saying is true. . . Then she's just another phantom. . . Like you." I said.

"That's where you're wrong, sweetie. That last Chloe, she's no phantom. She's the strongest memory in your whole damn brain. If you want one last shot, you'll have to go back to that place, and find her."


	4. Chapter 4

The ratty old truck barreled down the road, pushing through the wind and rain, as it had a hundred times before. It sped past the crashed semi-truck, slid around the blue overturned car, and came to a screeching halt before what had once been a building, but was now just a pile of metal and wood. The entire town looked like this now; destruction, chaos, and death. A place once quiet and ordinary, was now a battlefield, and it didn't look like anyone was walking off of it. This wasn't the first time the truck's driver had seen this.

The driver fought with her seatbelt, groping for the buckle and pulling at the strap, until she heard the click and wrenched the truck's door open. She was hit with the winds full force, almost knocking her off of her feet. Stumbling around the rear of the truck, she tripped over a stray board and fell onto the concrete. She was racing against the storm and the only thing in her vision was the diner; nothing else registered and nothing else mattered.

She ignored the pain coming from her skinned palms and bruised knee and pushed herself back up. The wind continued to thrash her as she took off in a sprint around the pile of debris between her and the diner.

 _C'mon just a little further dammit. . . You'll get there this time_

The driver leapt over an overturned mailbox, noticing an orange glow in her peripheral. It started small and started getting larger and moving further to her left.

 _NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. . ._

She rounded the end of the debris and started toward the diner, just across the street from her. Success was just within her grasp. . . Then the orange glow reached the diner. The fire had snaked along a gas trail and found its way into the diner, finding plenty of fuel once within. The explosion rocked the entire street, throwing the driver to the ground and fire into the sky.

"No. . ." Chloe whispered as she watched the fire burn every last piece of hope in her heart as it had done every time before.

* * *

"Chloe's out in this?"

"Yep, gets her daily shower and light show about this time." The other Max said flashing me a grin.

"You're a sadist." I said and turned away from her.

"Takes one to know one, honey." We were standing at the end of Arcadia Bay's main street, an awning shielding us from the storm's downward assault. From there I could see all the way to the diner, and every collapsed building and overturned car inbetween, but I couldn't see any people.

"This isn't like I remember it," I said, turning back to the other Max. "I remember there were other Blackwell students and people around here."

"This isn't your memory, Max," She said. "This is where your last memory of Chloe is, not a memory. It's her own little slice of hell."

 _Chloe deserves better than this. She doesn't deserve hell._

"You said she goes to the diner every day. . . A-And watches it um-" I said, trying to find the words.

"Explode? Go up in flames? Fourth of July all over the place?" The other Max offered.

 _Right, explode. . . With Joyce inside. . ._

"Right, but I don't see Chloe anywhere."

"She'll be there, trust me."

 _Yeah, trust you. Like that's possible._

"Ok, then let's head over there." I said, and started towards the Two-Whales. Before I reached the end of the awning the other Max tackled me, both of us tumbling into a giant puddle, sending a giant wave of water into the air.

"What the hell?!" I yelled, trying to break her hold on me. I wiggled and fought against her arms, which were wrapped around me in a bear hug, but couldn't get free. "Let g-"

"Shut up." She hissed, her voice barely a whisper.

"Wha-"

"Stop." She hissed again. I started to say something else, but that's when I saw _it_. _It_ was standing at the mouth of the alley opposite us, not moving, just staring out into the street, like _it_ was waiting for something. _It_ had pale skin, cold-gray eyes that seemed to glow ever so slightly, _it_ wore a white-button up shirt with black slacks, and to top it all off, _it_ looked like a man I had never wanted to see again, in this life or the next. . . Mark Jefferson.


	5. Chapter 5

The fire still raged two hours after it had blasted the Two Whales apart. Flames waved out the windows to the storm that approached ever slowly, calling it to the town like a long lost friend. In the real world the two friends would have been reunited much sooner; but here, the tornado never reached the town. It never completely tore the town from the earth, never fully wrenched Arcadia Bay from existence. It just sat there, watching her torment, reveling in her pain and anguish.

Chloe never moved in the first couple of hours, never stopped staring at the blackened windows. Never stopped running through every memory she had of Joyce; every morning breakfast, every fight, and every day that went by without telling her mom she loved her.

 _Oh god, Mom. . . I-I'm sorry. For everything._

She would have stayed longer, wanted to stay longer, but she knew they were coming. They always did, eventually. Chloe wiped away the last few tears from her red eyes and got up, her legs ached from sitting on the concrete for so long.

 _I guess I'll just go back to the truck, lock the doors, wait until. . ._

Chloe stopped. Every other time, every time, she had heard the same noises. Howling wind, thunderous rain, three windows shattering ten minutes apart an hour after the explosion, and the only other thing was her own breathing. Now she heard something else, something out of place: footsteps.

 _What the hell?_

She turned towards the footsteps, looking into the darkness for their owner. At first, she didn't see anything, it was just an empty space of shadows. Then a figure started to materialize, a person she hadn't seen in a long time, someone she hadn't seen here before.

"Chloe. . ."

* * *

"Really? Running? That was your brilliant plan?" The Other Max hissed.

"What was I supposed to do? Lay in the gutter for another ten minutes?" I hissed back. We had run from Jefferson, or whatever that thing was, and had ducked through a side door into some kind of office building. Of course the thing had followed us, like a few staplers and office chairs would scare it off. Now we were hiding behind some filing cabinets in a corner office, hoping the thing wouldn't find us this time. "Besides, he was waiting for us. Why?"

"Oh now you want my advice." She scoffed. "Well, do you really think you can hide anything from yourself?"

 _So my mind is trying to kill me. . . Great._

"Ok, well what happens if-" I stopped. A loud crash followed a few quick steps alerted us to Jefferson's distance, and he wasn't far. "What happens if he catches us?"

"Well, Death? Insanity? It doesn't matter." The Other Max said, peeking around her cover before quickly retreating as Jefferson made another loud noise. "All that matters is that you get to Chloe? Right?"

"Right. But how do we get past him?"

"I have no idea! Figure it o-"

"Maxine Caulfield. Where did you go?" Jefferson called from somewhere in the other room. His voice sounded wrong. Just wrong, like it had been strained by a hundred years of screaming and echoed softly as if spoken by a dozen other far off voices. "Come to save her? Your precious muse?"

 _Chloe. He's seen Chloe!_

"It's so cute. Really, it is Max. It's so cute that you think there's some sort of happily ever after here." Jefferson called again, this time a little closer.

 _Fuck you, Jefferson!_

"Temper Max, temper." He taunted.

 _I hate when they do that._

Jefferson was between us and the exit, and with one door to this office there was no way we would get out without him seeing us. Other than that there was no other way out except the windows, but that would only work if I got out before he could catch me. So I had my plan, my strategy to find Chloe before Jefferson or anything else could get to her.

"Well Max? Are you going to come out and face your fear. . . Or keep hiding. Keep running from me!" He screamed, knocking something over in the other room.

"Time to go." I said to the Other Max, and ran for the window. I had already reached the window when the door flung open and Jefferson stepped through. His eyes locked on me as I threw one leg out the window. Before he could take another step, the Other Max shoved her filing cabinet causing it to fall on Jefferson. Now he turned his eyes on her; wild, blood-shot eyes.

We didn't have to speak, at least I didn't. She was taking one for the team this time. I didn't know how this whole thing worked, but I assumed that this meant something. For her to stand between him and I, it definitely meant something.

Jefferson shrugged the file cabinet off; getting to his feet and advancing on her. The Other Max fought back, but as I clambered out the window, it didn't look good.

 _Thanks, I guess. . ._

I wasn't about to wait and see who the winner would be or to see what the aftermath would look like. I ran, with all the speed I could muster, towards the center of town. Towards the Two Whales. Towards Chloe. The whole time I avoided any odd shadows, just incase there were more like Jefferson out there. I was pretty sure there were, but I wasn't willing to test it.

I reached the Two Whales and stopped. The Cafe was engulfed in flames, devouring every peice of its structure for fuel. It almost made me sick to look at it. I looked away, reminding myself that whatever that fire had burned it wasn't the real Joyce, the real Frank, the real Warren. I looked around, searching for a hint of blue in all of the gray.

 _Dammit, where are you?!_

That's when I heard it. It was soft, almost non-existent, but there. I heard sobbing. It was coming from the other side of a giant pile of rubble, blocking most of the street. I followed the sound, picking my way carefully around the debris. As I got around the tip of the pile I saw the truck. That beautiful, old, ratty truck.

 _Chloe!_

I started running, eventually breaking into a sprint. All I wanted was to throw open those doors and wrap my arms around Chloe. That was my only instinct. I would have too, I would have ignored everything. Once I saw that blue hair peaking out from under that gray beanie, once I saw that leather jacket. Once I saw her sitting with her knees pulled to her chest in the passenger seat, pink eyes leaking tears. Nothing would have mattered. . . If I hadn't seen the figure silhouetted in the truck's headlights.

My legs stopped. I forced my mouth shut as I saw him, choking back a sob. He looked just like the day he left and never came back. Just like the day Chloe's world started to unravel. Now, he turned to look at me and his mouth twisted into a smile.

"Hey there, Max." William said.


	6. Chapter 6

"W-Why. . . Why is this happening?" Chloe whispered, staring into the floor of the truck. She tried to ignore the wind, the rain, and whatever was masquerading as her father outside. Nothing helped to ignore his voice; Chloe hadn't heard it in so long, that part of her didn't want to ignore it.

When he had appeared, Chloe's heart had stopped. That hopeful, innocent, part of her mind shoved at her subconcious to hug her father and never let him go. Then the real Chloe shrugged off that notion and had stepped back, glaring at her father's phantom with suspicion. But that hopeful Chloe pushed back again, and again; she started to break down, her eyes began to fill with tears she had already cried for him.

"Chloe. . . I missed you." William said, his arms spread out to wrap her in a hug. Chloe took another step back, shaking her head.

"Stay back. D-Don't come any closer." She shouted. William stopped, and Chloe thought she saw the smile on his face disappear for a second.

 _God dammit! Stop! He isn't real! STOP THINKING HE'S REAL!_

"What's wrong, Chloe?" William asked, taking one more small step forward. "Didn't you miss me?"

Chloe shook her head. He looked exactly like he did when he left that morning, smelled the same, he even moved the same. The only difference was the voice. It was William's, there was no mistaking that, but it sounded. . . Wrong. It sounded distant and soft, almost strained and faintly echoed.

"I miss my Father!" Chloe yelled. "Not You!"

"How could you say something like that, Chloe?" William asked. "After everyone has left you-"

"Shut up! You don't know anything about me! You. Aren't. Real."

"-behind." He continued, ignoring her. "Joyce, she's gone. Went on to a better place, with David."

"Stop-"

"Even Frank has moved on."

"I said stop. Now!"

"And then there's Max. . . Who has abandoned you again."

Somehow, William mentioning Max cut the deepest. In every iteration of this hell she had experienced, the one thought that had given her any sort of comfort was that Max was safe. For William to say that Max had abandoned her, it stung more than Chloe had thought it would. She didn't want to talk him anymore, this phantom of her father.

"Leave me alone." Chloe turned and headed for the truck.

"Chloe! Stop!" William yelled. She could hear his footsteps following her so she sped up. Reaching the truck in seconds, she threw open the door and climbed inside; locking the door, Chloe started the ignition. She started to turn the truck around, she wasn't even sure where she was going to go, when William leapt in front of the truck.

"Stop! You can't run from me!" He screamed slapping the trucks hood and holding his ground. The face she saw wasn't her fathers anymore, it was someone elses. Where he had once worn a kind smile, he wore a mask of anger and rage. "You can't run, Chloe!"

* * *

"William?" I whispered. He had now turned fully towards me, but still remained in front of the truck. For some reason I had never thought I would see him here, not in this place. I expected Jefferson, the man was a cancer I had never truly expected to beat. Hell, on some level I had expected to see herself; the Other Max had been very clear what she thought of me. But William? The man was a saint, the perfect father and a good human being. Why was he here?

"Hey Max, how've you been?" William asked, smiling at me like I an old friend. Part of me wanted to hug him, but most of my brain. . . Well, it knew he was just another phantom.

"William. Get away from the truck." I commanded, drawing on reserves of strength I always had when I was close to Chloe. I couldn't tell if I had had any effect on him, but I wasn't about to back down.

"Well you sure have grown up." William sneered. He kept one hand on the truck's hood, and took a step towards me. "Trying to tell me what to do."

"Get. Away. From. The Truck." I repeated. For a split second I looked from him to Chloe, but she hadn't moved. When I looked back, William was lunging at me. His fingers turning into claws aimed at my neck, intent on strangling me. I threw my hand up, palm open, and focused on Williams eyes. The air distorted between us and my head started feel the haze that descended when I used my power.

 _I won't let this happen._

William's lunge rewound, and by the time I stopped focusing he was back in front of the truck, hands on the hood and eyes staring through the windshield at Chloe. I shook away the haze and look at William, who was looking at me.

"Well, now I understand." He said, stepping away from the truck and advancing on me. "I shouldn't worry about her, Chloe has no power here. But you, you still have oyur power."

 _H-He remembers?_

"William! Back off!" I yelled, trying to hide the desperation in my voice.

 _Shit! What do I do!?_

"Now I know what I have to do." He sneered. This time he took two huge steps before lunging at me again.

I knew I couldn't rewind him forever, I knew that he would wear me down. Something, in the back of my mind seemed to. . . hell, I can't explain it. It just unlocked, a block was shoved aside in my mind, and something changed. My hand came up, my mind focused on his eyes, and then. . . He stopped.

William was frozen, hands a few centimeters from my throat. Somehow, maybe it was something about this place, William was motionless. I looked at him now, frozen in time, and part of me started to feel sick. This place, this power, had perverted even the most righteous person she had met in my life. William's memory had beacon for us our whole lives, and now, all I saw was this. . . This phantom. This monster.

 _Is this all. . . Really worth it? Is William's memory the price I pay for going back? How can I. . . How can I look at Chloe knowing that William's memory is forever tainted? No, no she won't remember this. . . I won't let her. . . I won't let Chloe go on without her dad's memory to hold onto. . . This ends now. . ._

I stepped past William, whispering an apology to his motionless form before walking over to the truck. Chloe didn't look up when I got to the door, staring down at the truck's floor.

"Chloe. . ." I whispered, placing my hand on the window gently. She still didn't move.

"You aren't real. You aren't real. You aren't real." She said, shaking her head.

 _Oh, Chloe. . . I-I'm so sorry._

"I am real, Chloe. I am. I know that you've seen a lot of things that wasn't real, a lot of things that didn't make sense or shouldn't have happened. But I promise th-"

"Shut up! You're just trying trick me! Just like every damn time!" She cried, looking up at me.

"Chloe. . . 'I love that you're my partner in crime.'" I said. I knew she would know what I was saying, and it made my eyes fill with tears when she put her hand on mine.

"'As long as you're my partner in time.'" She whispered.


	7. Chapter 7

"Y-You are real." Chloe said, pulling on my nose for the fifth time to confirm it was, in fact, real. I wasn't quite sure why she thought the phantoms' faces were fake, but I wasn't about to argue with her. Not now.

"Yeah, Chloe, I'm real." I said. I gently took her hand and guided it away from my face. Everything had happened so fast; I hadn't even thought what I was gonna say to her when I found her. I mean, there was the classic, "I missed you so much" or the ever popular, "I'm so sorry that you had to be subjected to emotional and mental torture everyday because of me and my superpowers" so I wasn't without options.

"Oh Max." She cried, and hugged me. We stayed like that for a liitle while, just, enjoying being in each others presence again. It had been so long that I had almost forgotten what one of her hugs felt like. "I missed you so much."

"I-I missed you too." I whispered, trying to blink away the tears that my eyes were producing now. All I wanted, in that moment, was to stay there. To just stay with her, everything else be damned, I just wanted to be with her. Unfortunately, I knew that I couldn't. I knew that I had to correct all of this, that I had to end the pain, one way or another, and that I couldn't waste time, not here. "Chloe-"

"Max, I need to ask you something. So I'm gonna need you to shut up for a sec. Ok?" Chloe stated, pulling away slightly so she could look into my eyes. Part of me fought to argue with her, obviously what I needed to say was more important, in the grand scheme. Instead, I nodded and let her speak.

"Ok. . . Max, why are you here?" She asked.

"Uh, I'm here for you. Why else would be here?"

"Max. . . I'm happy to see you, I hella am, but you shouldn't have come here."

"W-what?! Chloe, I-"

"Max, I asked you to end it. And you did, you saved the town. I asked you, to leave me behind and you did. So, please, don't tell me you're here for me. Because, I won't let them all die for me. Max, I chose this place. . . Just leave me here."

 _Jesus, Chloe._

"Chloe. . . The storm. . . It w-wasn't you." I whispered.

"Max, don't." She warned, giving me a sad smile.

 _She has to know. . . That none of this is her fault._

"Chloe-"

"Max, seriously just stop! Just accept it and-"

"Chloe!" I yelled, pulling away from her. "Stop and listen to me!"

"O-ok." She said, looking at me with worried eyes.

"The storm. . . this place. . . It's cause of me, Chloe. All of it. . . I-I'm not supposed to exist, I-I shouldn't have these powers, but I do. . . And whatever it is that caused the storm, it doesn't care. . . It really could care less about you Chloe, or Joyce, or David, or Warren. . . It was trying to correct a mistake. . . And I-I was that mistake."

"M-Max. . . What are you saying?"

"I'm saying," I whispered, choking back the tears and sobs that were fighting for control of me now. "That it's time to go back. . . One last time."

* * *

Chloe didn't say anything for a long time, just staring at me. My mind cycled through the possible outcomes; anger, resentment, hurt, sadness, maybe even a little bit of pity. I was mentally preparing for each one, expecting any and all. What happened, was something that I didn't expect.

"No." Chloe stated.

 _No?_

"What do you mean?" I asked, truly confused.

"I mean. . . No, you won't be going back." She said. "I won't let you."

"Chloe, we have to. We have to make things right."

"No, we don't. . . Max, it failed. It missed, and you're still ok. That's enough for me."

"Chloe-"

"Max, I made my choice, I'm not going back. You're safe, you and the others. That's why we won't be going back."

"No, Chloe. I'm not going to let you suffer for me. If all of this is my fault then I have to pay the price, not you. Not Joyce, not Dav-" I stated, but that's when I looked past Chloe and our conversation ended. When she noticed I had stopped she turned to see what I was looking at, and I think it hit her harder than me.

A mob had gathered of people or the phantoms of people that we knew. At its head was Jefferson, leading the pack. Behind him was everyone we knew: David, Frank, Warren, Victoria, and even. . . Joyce. They were staring at us, walking slowly towards the truck.

 _Oh my God. . ._

"Jesus, this is hella new Max." Chloe said, locking the doors. "Things are definitely exciting when you come around."

 _I'm sorry._

"You shouldn't be here!" Jefferson called, the mob stopping behind him. "You've interrupted the cycle, and we can't allow that!"

"Is he talking to you?" Chloe asked. I nodded.

"The next cycle has to start, Max! So you need to leave!" He yelled.

"Max. . . I can't believe that I'm saying this," Chloe said. "But Jefferson's right. You have to go."

Part of me couldn't believe that she was saying any of this. That I had come all this way to save her from this hell and she wanted me to leave her here. Then I remembered something that the Other Max had said to me, about the power of that last memory Chloe and I had, how it was the most powerful memory of her that I had. Then it just clicked, that memory was the kiss. The kiss that we had shared before I had gone back, it was a powerful moment filled with all of the feelings that we had for each other. Just then, it all made sense.

"I'm sorry Chloe." I said. She turned and looked at me. "But I'm not leaving you here."

So I kissed her, and then everything stopped for just a moment. The mob that had now surrounded the truck, was silenced. The storm was quiet, the only thing I heard was her heartbeat, and for a split second everything was perfect. Everything started to melt away: the truck, the mob, the storm, even the town was gone.

Part of me wanted to stay in that moment forever, but the pain ended the bliss. My brain suddenly erupted in pain, burning and stabbing pain that overwhelmed all of my senses. It was as if my head had been dipped in molten lava, and I could feel blood slithering down my upper lip.

I pulled away from Chloe and started to fall, expecting to hit the seat of the truck. Instead I hit grass, not fabric. When I finally managed to fight through enough of the pain to see more clearly I couldn't see broken buildings or concrete. What I saw, was a lighthouse standing tall beside us.


	8. Epilogue

I fought desperately against the pain, trying hard not to let it overtake me again. It was so intense that my vision was blurring and I could barely see the grass I was laying on. To top it all off my nose was a fountain, blood trickling constantly down my face.

"Max? Max? Are you okay? Say something?" Chloe called, probably loudly but with the pain and the sound of the storm I could barely hear her. "What did you do Max?"

"I kissed you, dumbass." I chuckled, my chuckling eventually giving way to a coughing fit that eventually resulted in me coughing up blood.

"What did you do?" She repeated, grabbing my hand.

"Chloe. . . I-I need the picture." I said, trying to force the coughing away with only my willpower. It didn't work.

"Max-"

"This isn't a debate, C-Chloe. . . I. . . I need to go back. . . To give it what it wants." I choked, another fit of coughing overtaking me. "So that it will leave you alone."

"No, Max. No." Chloe said, squeezing my hand tighter. "I won't let you do this."

"C-Chloe. . . P-Please. . ." I begged, but my strength was failing and my vision was going black. I fought against it, but it was slowly overtaking me again. "I-I can't let-"

"Max. . . Max? Max? Stay with me! Max?!" She yelled as I started to black out. It started with my hand going limp, then my eyes started rolling back into my head. In a matter of seconds, the darkness swallowed me up, and I blacked out.

* * *

When I woke up, I was slumped in the tuck's passenger seat, rays of sunlight bathing the inside of the truck in light. Chloe was driving, leaning on her windowsill staring straight ahead. We were on a coastal road, but I wasn't sure what direction we were heading or what road it was.

"Chloe?" I whispered, sitting up. "What happened?"

"You passed out, MegaMax." She said, smiling sadly. "The tornado hit the town, and I carried you to the truck."

 _The tornado hit the town? That's ok, it's gonna be ok. There's still time. I just need to get that picture._

"Chloe. . . I know you don't want this. . . But its the right thing to do. . . If the only way to keep you and Arcadia Bay safe is to give it what it wants. . . Then I will. . . Please, can I have the picture?"

Chloe shifted her gaze further out the window and seemed to wipe something I can only assume were tears from her face. "Sure, Max. It's in the glove compartment."

"Thank you, Chloe. I'm sorry that it has to be this way." I said, putting my hand on her shoulder.

"Me too." She said sadly.

I popped open the glove compartment and started searching for the picture. I moved napkins, papers, cigarettes, and finally caught sight of the corner of the picture in the back of the compartment. Grabbing it, I pulled it out and prepared to focus on it.

 _No. . . No, no, no, no, no. . ._

"C-Chloe. . . Oh god. . ."

"I'm sorry, Max." She said, not looking at me or the pain on my face. "But you're my number one priority now."

She didn't look at the tears in my eyes or the horror on my face, and all I could see were the burned edges of what had once been the picture of a beautiful butterfly.


End file.
